


To love exclusively

by Kamisa



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Alcohol, Multi, Yata (mentioned), dunno what to tag it's just Zenigata joining the gang, mentioned polygang, mentioned these two detectives who worked with Zenigata in TV sieries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:53:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26378350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamisa/pseuds/Kamisa
Summary: After one of the heist that didn't go as smoothly as usually, the gang is resting in Germany. One night, when drunken Lupin comes back after hours spent on visiting local bars, he brings an unexpected guest.
Relationships: Arsène Lupin III/Zenigata Kouichi, Ishikawa Goemon XIII/Jigen Daisuke, Ishikawa Goemon XIII/Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III/Mine Fujiko/Zenigata Kouichi, Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46
Collections: Lupin III Big Bang 2020





	To love exclusively

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey hey! I'm super excited to take part in such event as Lupin Big Bang!  
> My parter was Raven and I honestly hope they'll like my little fic. The provided promps were angst, fluff, domestic and tried to write something what will have a bit of these three. Anyways I'd like to thank the Mods for organizing something so awesome.   
> And now please enjoy, especcialy you, Raven, another fic in which Jigen has to deal with Lupin and his heart problems (｀･ω･)ﾉ☆･ﾟ::ﾟ

One of the first things Jigen had learned after joining Lupin was that he will never have him exclusively. Sure, they could work together as partners in crime, travel together as the most wanted thieves in the world, live together as the best friends or even spend nights together as lovers. But there would always be someone else. Fujiko, Goemon, random women or man of the week. 

Years ago Jigen used to be jealous. He would often disappear without a word or, on the contrary, was trying to discourage Lupin’s object of affection with his not-so-mature complaining and not-so-mature behavior. Of course he knew he was acting like a kid, but he couldn’t help. Lupin gave him the illusory feeling that he was finally the most important person in someone’s life and then crashed it unscrupulously. And the worst thing was that Lupin didn’t even release that he was hurting someone. For him it was natural to desire everything and everyone. To steal people’s hearts without even knowing it. Jigen understood it eventually, but understanding it didn’t help. Although he learned to accept it. And when Goemon joined them permanently, Jigen discovered that he also is able to love more than one person at the same time.

But sadly it couldn’t bury the little demon of jealousy completely. Even now it loved to whisper its poisonous words to Jigen’s ears every time Lupin (or Goemon) was showing affection to someone else. However Jigen learned to ignore it. After years of shared love he knew that even if Lupin is with another woman about whom he will forget weeks later or if Goemon chose Fujiko’s company this time, it didn’t mean they loved him less. 

So when one evening Lupin had returned to their hideout with wasted Pops, Jigen wasn’t surprised. To be honest, he was more like: “finally”. 

For years Jigen was observing their mutual pining. They both could call each other enemies or rivals, but the truth was, Zenigata long ago became part of Lupin’s family. He was just too blind to see it and too stubborn to leave forces that treated him worse than an insect and join the gang. Or start his own bakery or write books or do literally anything else that wasn’t trying to arrest someone who was apparently the love of his life.

And Lupin wasn’t better. As always, he wasn’t aware how much influence he had on people around him. It’s truly unbelievable that this self-proclaimed gentleman thief could easily read any villain or target, but wasn’t able to understand the feelings of those who were the closest to him. He had no idea that these all seemingly unharmful jokes and suggestions were like needles, pushed into Inspector’s heart.

Once Jigen tried to talk about it. And, as he could predict, it had no effect. Lupin didn’t see or pretended to not see Zenigata’s feelings. Either way Jigen decided he can’t be their matchmaker. If these fools wanted to ignore this whole situation, it was their choice. They weren’t teenagers dealing with their first love, but grown men who should have already learned how to deal with their feelings. 

It was a few weeks ago, after a really spectacular escape from prison in some Asian country, that used to be part of the Soviet Union. Three days and nights of chase, when more than once they were only one step from death. And when they thought that it was the end, that this time Lupin’s loose tongue won’t save them from the brutal strength of post-soviet gangsters, Pops was the one who helped them. He offered them a rest for a night in his motel room and helped treat the wounds. And the next morning, he let them escape. Because, as he said, he didn’t want to arrest their dead bodies.

Jigen wasn’t sure what happened during their stay in that room, definitely too small for four grown men. He passed out as soon as he lay on the tiny space between bed and wall, using his jacket as a pillow. Goemon sat close to him and immediately fell into something between sleep and meditation, with the Zantetsuken held close to his body. So that left that too small and too short bed for Lupin and Zenigata’s use. And to tell the truth, at that moment Jigen didn’t give a damn shit what were they doing. They could sleep or talk or fuck the whole night, he was too exhausted with this chase too care. But in the morning, when they were woken up by loud engines of cars too big and too military for that small town in the middle of nowhere, Jigen saw something strange in Zenigata’s eyes. He wasn’t able to name it. Maybe it was sadness, maybe fear, maybe guilty or maybe something totally different. 

Pops had never looked at them, at Lupin, like that. There was a time when Jigen was sure that wrath was Zenigata’s default emotion. Every time they had seen each other, Inspector was shouting, running and behaving like a mad man. The gang didn’t find out until later that he, in fact, could talk and act like a normal person. That his laugh wasn’t always so loud and that his voice sometimes became softer and quieter. 

Over the years, more and more often, instead of trying to outsmart and deceive each other, they helped each other. And Jigen noticed that those once brief moments of the truce were getting longer and longer. That Lupin increasingly chose his targets so that he could cooperate with the Inspector during the heists, instead of competing with him. And for a brief moment, a couple of hours, everything was perfect. The five of them (or four, if Fujiko was on the opposite side this time) were undefeated. But in the end, there was always that moment when evil was defeated, valuables were suddenly magically in the safe hands of Lupin, and the criminal in handcuffs was led to the police car. And each time Jigen watched as the farewells grew longer and longer, and the unspoken words weighed heavily on.

And it was on that gray morning in the microscopic hotel room that Jigen decided it was time to break the silence. Zenigata's gaze, filled with a mixture of negative emotions, was a seed that tipped the scales. But at that moment, there was no time for anything more than to lift the hem of the hat and briefly touch the shoulder as they passed each other on the threshold.

They escaped and for the next few hours were running, farther and farther away from their pursuers and also Pops. Finally they managed to cross the border with India, where Lupin knew someone who owed him a favor. Thanks to him they could safely fly first to Japan, when they were licking their wounds for almost two weeks, and then to Europe, to Germany, because they had a really nice apartment in Villingen. They were there only two or three times and still none of their neighbors didn’t suspect that these three strange men were in fact wanted criminals, so it seemed to be a perfect place to lay down and have a short vacation before the next big heist.

The next day they arrived, when Goemon went out to buy some groceries, so they could eat something different than instant soups and canned beans, Jigen decided he wouldn’t have the better opportunity to Talk. He swallowed his pride and reluctance to talk about feelings and started conversation. And he lasted only five minutes until he was done with Lupin’s bullshit and had to go out. If he wanted to deny everything that was his choice. Jigen’s choice was to forget about this embarrassing conversation and get drunk.

The best part about their apartament, at least for Jigen, was its location. On the first floor of their building was a bar with an excellent assortment of whisky. It wasn’t as crowded as other locals in the city, even during tourist season and Jigen was sure that if only they visited this part of Germany more often, he could become its main source of its income.

So how did Zenigata find them in Villingen? Probably the same as always. Mixture of his instinct, experience, knowledge, luck and fate. 

“Oh c’mone, Pops, don’t die here,” said Lupin, when Zenigata fell into their hall, not able to stand anymore. Jigen was sitting at the table in the living room and had to lean back on the chair to see something. Inspector mumbled something, probably trying to curse Lupin in French, but even sober he wasn’t a master of this language. “It’s o-HIC-kay, okay.”

Lupin squatted and patted Zenigata’s head, but the sudden attack of hiccup told that the thief also had quite a lot of alcohol circulating in his body. One strong and loud “HIC” and he lost his balance and fell to the Zenigata’s level. He started to roll on the floor laughing and Jigen doubted it was caused only by alcohol.

The gunman sighted and put his glass of scotch on the table.

“What the fuck are you doin’, you dumbass?” he asked nicely, when hewalked over to them.

“Jigen, dear!” Lupin exclaimed, for some reason truly surprised that his friend was in their apartment. “My love, my partner, my _ tovarishch _ !”

“Yeah, yeah, fuck you too. So? Why is Pops sleepin’ on our floor?”

“He’s not sleeping, he’s… well okay, he’s totally sleeping,” said Lupin, when Zenigata suddenly snored loudly.

“And why here?”

“Because - help me, darling -,” asked Lupin, when the gravity didn’t let him stand up on his own. Jigen rolled his eyes, but helped him anyway. “ - his hotel is too far away and he’s too-HIC-drunk go there. Alone. In the middle of the night. Duh.”

They were slowly going to the one of two bedrooms. Their journey took almost twice as long, as Lupin was magically attracted to every flat surface along the way. "I'm not paid enough to deal with this," thought Jigen and said:

“Oh yeah. Our poor, little and built like a tank policeman.”

"Oh no no no, my dear.” Lupin tried to wave his finger in front of Jigen's face, but he staggered and eventually nearly stuck his finger in his nose.“You see,  _ mein Schatzi,  _ this is the reason why our dear Pops is in his current state.”

“You mean more drunk than you?”

Lupin snorted and he walked the last meter to the bed on his own. He immediately snuggled up against the pillow, and Jigen yanked the blanket out to help him cover himself.

“ _ Oui, exactement _ .”

“English, please.”

Lupin waved a hand without much conviction. Not knowing if it was out of spite or if his multilingual brain was too drunk to distinguish between languages, he suddenly switched to Japanese.

“He isn’t a policeman anymore.”

“What?” asked Jigen, but the only answer Lupin could give was a quiet sigh when he fell asleep. “Oi, Lupin, you bastard! The fuck did you just say?!”

Jigen's screams were in vain. Lupin fell asleep, and in the next few hours the only thing that could wake him up would be the passing of tanks and the sound of Fujiko's unbuttoned dress. Possibly there were a few other things, but Jigen wasn't in the mood for any of them. He wanted to get drunk today and fall asleep lifeless on the couch surrounded by bottles of whiskey. And this perfect plan in no way involved the unconscious Lupin, much less the sleeping in their hall Zenigata.

He prodded Lupin again to be sure, but as he expected, it didn't have much effect. So he went into the living room, finished his whiskey, and only then faced Pops. And he reasonably concluded that he wouldn’t pick him up himself. So he returned for his bottle of alcohol and, having it as his only conscious companion, sat down on the floor, leaning against the door frame to keep an eye on Zenigata.

The fact that their Inspector was no longer an inspector was surprising, but not so much that he would get drunk with despair. After all, this is not the first time someone from Interpol said that he would be a better man to capture the famous phantom thief than the old Zenigata. And as always in such situations, after a few unsuccessful attempts, this person will give up and either immediately give up the due position, or first he will want to solve the problem by force, and then he will be forcibly removed himself. There was no other option.

Unless Pops was eventually forced to retire. Jigen had no idea how old Zenigata was, let alone what the retirement age of the policemen was. It was not that impossible, however. After all, there is such a thing as "early retirement", and an employee holding the same position for over 10 years and not bringing much success from the employer's point of view was a waste of money.

About 250 milliliters later, Goemon returned to the apartment. He walked over the snoring Zenigata as if his presence in their hall was the most ordinary thing in the world.

“Good evening, my samurai,” said Jigen, grinning. Goemon looked at him with something that could be described as slight disgust.

“It’s already past 2 am.”

“Time flies so fast during an interesting conversation! Right, Pops? " Jigen gave Zenigata's head a little nudge to confirm his words. Its owner didn't care much, he just sighed loudly. "Well said!"

“So,” started Goemon, completely ignoring his friend's antics. “Why is the Inspector here?”

“He came with Lupin. Or rather he was dragged here by Lupin. He passed out as soon as they opened the door.”

“And where is Lupin?”

“Sleepin’.”

“Ah. I see.”

They watched the sleeping Zenigata for a moment in silence. It was only then that Jigen noticed that the inspector was not wearing his coat or hat. Only the brown, neuter and cheap suit remained the same.

“And what are we supposed to do now? Should we move to another safe house?,” asked Goemon. 

Jigen stood up and suddenly the world started rotating. He had to lean against the wall, incidentally casting a suspicious glance at the almost empty whiskey bottle. It was impossible for him to get drunk so quickly after drinking so little. Well, it maybe was because he had eaten nothing but alcohol and nicotine in the last 10 hours.

“Nah,” he said finally, when the world calmed down. He felt Goemon’s cold hand on his forearm. Samurai probably wanted to help him, but Jigen shook his head and squeezed his hand gently.They had someone who could use even more help. “Let’s transport him to the bedroom. We can think about what to do with our lovely enemy in the morning’.”

“It is morning.”

“No, it’s the middle of the fuckin’ night. Morning starts at eight am. Nine, if it's the weekend.”

Together they delivered Zenigata to the bed, the same in which Lupin snored. Within a moment, the thief abandoned the pillow and wrapped his limbs around the Inspector's body. Jigen smiled slightly at the sight, then wider as his imagination told him the Inspector's panicked face as he woke up tomorrow in the arms of his nemesis. Goemon's furrowed brow suggested that for him this situation was not that funny.

“And what’s now?” he asked, when they closed the bedroom door.

“It’s 2 am. We can either drink or go to bed.”

“I do not think more liquor would be good for your health.”

“Well. Maybe. But don’t tell my liver that or it’ll finally revolt.” 

“We are going to bed, Jigen.”

“Mhm. Great idea. We can have a romantic threesome with whisky or-”

“You sound like Lupin,” interrupted Goemon. He sounded a bit irritated, but Jigen saw a small smile on his lips. So he grinned and grabbed his waist. 

“So maybe I should also act like Lupin.”

He wanted to kiss Goemon, but suddenly the Zantetsuken appeared between them.

“Stop it,” said samurai.

Jigen raised his hands in surrender, not wanting to risk his life, much less his beard, to a close encounter with the blade. Of course, he knew that if someone could be shortened by a limb for such stupid comments, Lupin would had been chopped into small pieces a long time ago. But you can never be too careful.

That's why he was prepared for a surprise attack. As soon as the door to the second bedroom had closed behind them, Goemon incredibly quickly turned to him and pulled his tie. Their lips met and their hands began to wander over the bodies.

“And who’s actin’ like Lupin now?” asked Jigen, when they made a break for a breath. 

“Shut up, gunman,” answered Goemon and kissed him again.

Despite the late (or early, depending on how you look at it) hour, it was still some time before they both fell asleep.

There are few things worse in the world than waking up in an empty bed in the morning, despite falling asleep close to your loved one. However, it was another thing Jigen had to get used to as his relationship with Lupin and Goemon ceased to be merely business and friendly.

Therefore, he was not particularly surprised when his hand found an empty space instead of a familiar body. Slightly disappointed, he got up and looked at his watch. It was only after 9 am, of course Goemon, not used to a long sleep, had disappeared a long time ago. Jigen prefered staying in this wonderful state without thoughts and worries a bit longer, so he turned to the other side and tried to fall asleep again. However, it was not given to him. Instead of sleep, he got a repeat of yesterday evening from his brain.

So Zenigata was here. In their safe house. 

Part of Jigen wanted to yell: “FINALLY!”, remembering these sad eyes of Inspector and Lupin’s stupid love. But there was also a part that belonged to the hitman who was betrayed too many times. And that piece of him was shouting: “IT’S A TRAP!” Although, it was Pops. The man who wore all emotion on his face and who for sure had some feelings for the thief, he was supposed to catch. Yeah. He’d never betray them. He was a police officer after all, with all that justice and other bullshits. 

Or maybe not? Maybe this time it was really the end of his career as Inspector and from now he will be known as only Zenigata Koichi, ex-cop, the only one who was able to keep pace with Lupin.

Either way, Jigen was going to find out the truth soon, when these two drunk idiots would be finally awake. But now it was time for shower, breakfast and to check if Fiat had enough petrol. Just in case.

When Jigen was in the middle of preparing breakfast (toast and eggs), Goemon came back to the apartament. And he wasn’t alone.

“Oi, Goemon, why have you brought that bith here? We don’t run a shelter.”

“I agree. With a monkey and a clown like you it’s more like a circus,” answered Fujiko, leaning against the doorframe to the kitchen. She was looking stunning as always, in jeans and a pink crop top. Her hair was dark this time, almost black, with slightly pink reflects. This colour was also dominant in her makeup and Jigen wouldn’t be Jigen if he didn’t use it against her. 

“Wanna join, you pig?”

“Are you done?” interrupted Goemon, before Fujiko could ripost. And even if Jigen knew that question was rhetorical, he had to answer anyway:

“Oh no, we can do it all day.” 

Goemon let out an irritated grunt and put the kettle on the gas. He was clearly disturbed by something, since it took him twice as long as usual to pick up a tea. And they had only two kinds - black and green one. Something - besides meeting Fujiko - had happened during his morning training. 

Maybe he suddenly decided he should go back to Japan, to one of these places that didn’t know it’s the 21st century already, and spent some time under a waterfall or trying to cut various things that shouldn’t be cut. It wouldn’t be the first time. Sometimes after the heist that hadn’t gone perfectly and someone had gone hurt, Goemon felt like it was his fault (even if it was clearly Lupin’s or Jigen’s mistake). Although in these situations he just disappeared without a word and since he was still here in Villingen, the reason between that little wrinkle between his eyebrows had to be different.

“Something is burning,” said Goemon calmly.

“MY EGGS!” 

Jigen tried to rescue his breakfast, accompanied by Fujiko’s laugh. 

Finally they sat together in the living room, Goemon with his tea, Fujiko with coffee and Jigen with his eggs that was probably more like carbon than proper meal now. And between them on the table was lying a newspaper. It was yesterday’s issue with a huge photo of some sportsman on the first page. Jigen knew some German, enough to communicate, but maybe not enough to read fluently. Anyway he reached for the newspaper and opened it. 

“Fifth page,” said Fujiko. 

Jigen looked at her suspiciously, but fulfilled her command. There was something about immigrants, the short article about robbery in the ATM break-ins. At the very bottom of the page there was a headline: “ _ Ein Skandal bei Interpol. Berühmter Polizist gefeuert _ .”. 

“What is written there?” asked Goemon. The wrinkle between his eyebrows was a bit bigger now. “Fujiko said she will not tell me until you read the article. So?”

“Gimme a moment,” said Jigen. He usually understood about 80% of the text, which was really impressive if you take into account that for a long time he didn’t have to use German for anything other than ordering alcohol in the bar. Goemon, with his lack of ambitions to know more languages than Japanese and English, was probably frustrated right now. Why did Fujiko always have to make a big deal out of nothing?

“The title basically says: ‘A scandal at Interpol. Famous cop fired.’ And it’s about Pops, although they call him “ex-inspector Zenigata K.”,” he paused for a moment. He had a really bad feeling about this. Why did Fujiko make such a secret out of this? It wouldn’t be the first and probably the last time, when Pops had been fired. This man caused probably as much trouble for Interpol as Lupin himself. “They mention Lupin, of course, and then something about our last heist and then me… wait, what the hell!? What the fuck doesn it mean!?” he stood up suddenly and pointed the fork at Fujiko. The woman smiled from behind her cup of coffee and said nothing.

“What? What is written there?” asked Goemon, even more irritated now.

“They say that Zenigata helped us during the last heist because he has romance with me!” Fujiko started laughing and almost spilled her coffee. “What’s so funny!?” 

“I see,” said Goemon calmly, but that made Jigen even more angry.

“No, you don’t see a shit! Pops was fired because of that bullshit!?”

“Why are you so angry, Jigen?” asked Fujiko, seemingly innocent, but the smile on her lips said something different. She enjoyed every second of that armageddon. “Would you rather have Goemon to have a romance with our ex-Inspector?” 

“No, of course not! It’s just-,” he sat down and aggressively stabbed his eggs with the fork. “It’s so absurd and stupid! Why the fuck Interpol fired him because of that stupid reason!? And why me, why not Lupin? Everyone who has eyes can see that these two feel something for each other!”

“I agree, but,” Fujiko put her cup on the table. “What would that change?”

“Hm?” 

“If it was romance with Lupin, Goemon or me… would that really change anything?” she asked in a serious voice. “He was fired and his whole reputation is in pieces. Even if he could return to ICPO the rumors would never stop. Was he really working alone or Lupin and his gang was helping him all along? Is Lupin really so hard to catch or Zenigata couldn’t arrest him, because he was in a relationship with one of us?”

“He lost his credibility,” interjected Goemon and Fujiko nodded.

“I was in Lyon when the shit hit the fan. Here,” she said, pointing at the newspaper. “it’s only a small mention. But in France this case was everywhere. Every paper and TV station wanted to talk to Zenigata, but none of them really wanted to listen to what he had to say. Everyone just agreed that this slander is the only truth.”

“And what about his workmates? None of them denied that bullshit? Even Yata?”

“Yata was probably told that if he defended his ex-boss too much he would soon follow his footsteps. And you know, Zenigata was never popular in his workplace, in the first place,” finished Fujiko. 

For a moment they sat in silence. It was exactly like Fujiko said. Zenigata was always hated by his superiors, but at the same time had a really small circle of young policemen who admired his work. After all he was the only one who had ever arrested Lupin. No one could deny it. Until now.

“Have you come here to tell us about it?” asked Goemon. His face and voice were calm. His frustration about text he couldn’t understand disappeared and now it was hard to guess what he was thinking. 

“Partly. After a day of media crusade Zenigata bought a plane ticket and left France.”

“And what, have you followed him all the way here?”

Fujiko looked at Jigen. Really looked at him, letting him for a second to see what was in her mind and not what she wanted to show to the world. Her eyes were tired, full of worryness and concern. It all disappeared when she blinked. 

“Someone had to keep an eye on him,” she said in a tone that suggested that it was only a problem and she would rather do anything else than watch if Zenigata, after losing his job which was his whole life, wants to kill himself or make something equally stupid.

The three of them suddenly joggled, when some loud noises came from the bedroom. Suddenly the door was opened and they could see Zenigata, with his face red as tomato. He stood frozen for a second, then said something quietly, looked around and soon ran to the bathroom. Seeing this Fujiko snorted and both Jigen and Goemon smiled. Yeah, they could be shocked after hearing all this nonsense, but it was nothing compared to what he must have endured waking up next to his nemesis. And speaking of which…

Lupin came out of the bedroom looking like a zombie. His eyes were only half open and it was clearly seen that every move cost him too much energy. Step by step, but he finally got to the table and sat heavily on the chair. He put his head on the table and looked around the room sleepily.

“Fujicakes,” he croaked. “Make me a compress of your tits, please.”

“Ask your beloved Inspector, he also has nice tits,” answered the woman and left to the kitchen. Lupin groaned and closed his eyes. 

“Wake me up when September ends,” he said in a pained voice.

“It’s already November,” announced Goemon, who didn't know the reference and Jigen snorted. 

“So wake me up inside.”

“I can’t wake up,” added Jigen. Goemon frowned, looking at him.

“But you are a- ah,” he interrupted himself. “You are quoting something.”

Lupin he confirmed with a grunt and Jigen grinned. Fujiko came back and put a cup of strong coffee in front of the half alive thief.

“Drink,” she ordered and who was Lupin to not listen to such a woman.

Twenty minutes later, but they were finally together. Goemon stood next to Jigen, since they had only four chairs. The rest was supplied by Fujiko, Lupin, who was awake in ¾ now and by Zenigata, whose face was more like unripe tomato now. 

“So,” started Lupin, looking at both Zenigata and Jigen. “When were you going to tell me about your little affair?”

“Fuck you,” answer Jigen. Pops only groaned softly.

“What?” the thief folded his hands behind his head and leaned back in the chair. He tried to talk in an emotionless voice, but that only made him sound pretentious. “I think it’s something you should share with your friends”

“Oh, stop being a jealous dick,” said Fujiko. She pulled a small mirror out of her purse and was fixing her lipstick. 

“I’m not jealous! I’m the least jealous person in the world!” exclaimed the world known thief. “Besides, I know these two never slept together. These rumors are trumped up. Someone so bad wanted to get rid of our dear Pops and came up with this ridiculous story.”

“So stop being an idiot and try to figure out how to fix it!” demanded Jigen. Goemon supported him with a nod. The samurai put a hand on Jigen’s shoulder. Dealing with having a hangover and still not fully awake Lupin was a real hell, but at least he wasn’t alone in this hell.

“Um, excuse me, but-” Zenigata had to pause to clear his throat. His voice was lacking his usual strength, replaced by fatigue and resignation. “But I don’t think I want things to be fixed.”

“What do you mean you don’t want to?” asked Jigen. Goemon gripped his arm tighter. That… that didn’t sound well. He was sure Zenigata found them, so they would together plan how to get him back to work. Then everything would be like always. They would run, Pops would chase them. The old cat and mouse game. 

But was that what they really wanted?

If things were like always, Lupin and Pops’ mutual pining would never end. Their relationship would probably never make it to the next stage and even if it did, it would only cause problems for both of them. Lupin will never give up being a thief, it was not only his profession, but primarily part of his personality. And Zenigata felt like he was the only one who was able to arrest him. That it was his responsibility. So they would meet a wall: if they want to be together, if they really wanted to, Zenigata mustn't be a policeman. Because his sense of justice and duty will always demand seeing Lupin behind bars.

It looked like the current situation was perfect. Pops without his luggage full of responsibility could finally be honest with his feelings. He could do whatever he wanted, free of any  obligation as police officer and descendant of famous Zenigata Heiji. 

So why did he look like he lost his soul?

“I’m tired,” said Zenigata in such a silent and emotionless voice, that he sounded the complete opposite of that loud and energetic man they all knew. “For years I thought I could win with bureaucracy, politics and the system. That it all didn’t matter, that my only mission was capturing Lupin. So I didn’t care about any rumors or opinions coming from too ambitious people,” he looked up, previously focused on his hands. “But it’s different now. I’m not alone. There are Sakuraba and Kunikida. And of course my irreplaceable Yata. They are still young, they have careers and a future, but working with me… it only causes them more and more problems. And now… now because of these idiotic rumors they all also almost lost their jobs. But I made a deal with the chief. They’ll fire only me and leave the kids alone. But of course these three idiots...,” he smiled a little, but it was only a sad grimace. “They wanted to be solidary and resign. Finally I convinced them it would be the worst decision in their lives. And knowing them they didn’t stop fighting and even now are trying to figure out how to help me. And I’m grateful to them, but… Even if they learned to never give up from me, I don’t want to fight anymore. There would always be someone racist, someone homophobe or simply someone whose career I’m interrupting. And beside…” he looked at Lupin. The thief, as the rest of them, was totally silent and immobility, listening to the mologue. Zenigata swallowed with obvious difficulty. His throat was dry from long talking and probably a horrible hangover. “Besides I’m not sure if I still want to arrest you.”

“Pops…” said Lupin softly. Then he relaxed, rested his elbow on the table and the head on his hand. And smiled warmly. “It almost sounds like a love confession.”

“Hmpf. If you say so.”

Zenigata tried to act cool, but his red cheeks clearly said he wasn’t calm at all. Jigen grinned and suddenly felt like the heavy atmosphere was gone. Like the whole air was purified with these few words.

“What are you going to do now?” asked Goemon.

“Right now I want to cure that hangover,” answered Zenigata and Lupin murmured:

“Oh Jesus, same.”

“But then… I don’t know. When I left Lyon my only plan was to find you and get drunk and as you can see, I’m here.”

Goemon nodded, acknowledging it. He tied up his sleeves.

“In this case I will start preparing ramen immediately.”

“You’re the best, Goemon-chan!” exclaimed happily Lupin. 

“I know,” answered simply samurai.

“I'm gonna help you,” Jigen’s offer was accepted with a nod. They went to kitchen, but before closing the doors to it, he heard Fujikos voice:

“I’m going to take a long bath, co you boys have to take care of yourselves.”

Normally the ramen should be boiled for about 6 hours, but Jigen decided none of them, and especially not Pops and Lupin, would wait so long. So two hours had to be enough, even if Goemon complained that the broth won’t be as good as it should be. 

“These drunkards don’t deserve your cookin’ anyway, you’ll give them a cup ramen and they’ll be happy,” said Jigen. Goemon made a grumpy noise, but before he could say something, Jigen kissed him. 

Two and half hours later once again they gathered at the table. This time Jigen took one chair from the kitchen, so all of them could sit comfortably and enjoy the meal. Goemon’s ramen as always was fenomenal and when all bowls were empty both Zenigata and Lupin were looking incomparably better. Jigen couldn’t be sure it was only due to that delicious medicine or maybe whatever they did when they had been left alone helped them as well.

Zenigata put his chopsticks on his bowl and thanked him for the meal. And then suddenly his eyes became wet and he sniffed loudly.

“Oi, what’s wrong, old man?” asked Jigen and Zenigata hurriedly wiped away the tears that had just formed.

“It’s just… that soup was really good.”

“I told you, right?” said Lupin, already in his usual state of too energetic monkey. That monster regenerated too quickly. “Goemon’s cuisine is the best! And just wait for his soba noodle!”

Zenigata gave them the biggest and warmest of his smiles and Jigen could swear their living room suddenly became the brightest place in the world. 

“Thank you, I will!” exclaimed ex-Inspector. 

This declaration, made at the table, at which they had just eaten the first of hopefully many, many more shared meals, sealed his future. Whatever he’d do now, join them, become a private detective, work at a farm or come back to the ICPO, when his coworkers will finally defeat whoever started this whole mess, the one was for sure. Zenigata Koichi was now officially another one person, who had settled in Lupin’s heart for good.

Jigen knew he couldn’t have Lupin  exclusively. But - he thought to himself, observing from behind the brim of his hat, how Lupin and Zenigata touched each other, supposedly by accident and how Fujiko murmured something to Goemon’s ear and the samurai cheeks turned pink - but was it really that bad?

They didn’t have themselves exclusively, but instead they all shared the love to each other and especially to one gentleman thief.


End file.
